Nordost
Super Flatline
Speaker Cables

Product Description

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Michel Henault
a AudioPhile

Date Reviewed: November 13, 2010

Bottom Line:

I read that many persons found those cables as lacking in the bass department. PERSONNALY I DIDN'T ENCOUNTER SUCH PROBLEM. The bass is weighty enough and the stereo image is very large, much larger than with my Goertz M1. Are they vastly superior to the Goertz until now, I should say no. They have about 10 hours under the wires.

They are not very flexible but it's a solid core design. Nice quality of the materail, very expensive.

I borrowed diferent cables from my preferred audio retailer, Nordost Superflat Gold II, Nordost Blue Heaven and Kubala Imagination, the Nordost were already broken in, not the Kubala. I made a blind test at a friend"s home, i compared the 3 above mentioned cables with the Goertz MI 3. The best cable after many cable switching was the Goertz, followed by the Nordost Superflatline. They sounded alike, with great bass extension and definition, clear midrange and sweet highs. The Goertz had a little more of the same qualities as the Super Flatline but cost at least 2.5 times more.
I made the same test at my place (minus the Goertz) I have Dynaudio speakers, Rotel RMB-1095 power amplifier and Arcam CD 73 CD player. My system has a warn, clean sound but my previous speakers cable make it sometime rough in the midrange and in the highs. With the Superflatline in place, it just sounds glorious: tight, deep musical bass, clean, clear midrange and smooth and sweet highs. THe Blue Heaven did lack bass, highs were more strident. The Kubalas are even worse, but they are not broken-in, but as they are too expensive, i wont use them to broke them in.
I consider my system to be of high caliber, i go to the Salon Son & Image every year in Montreal, i listen to expensive systems and to my ears, i still prefers my Dynaudios. But now they sound much better with the Superflatline Gold. They deserve 5 stars on pure performance et specially on performance/price ratio

Fair enough, this cable is not recommended for people seeking the best base performance. But it works wonder for me given the small room size. It opens up the music and produces tremendous clarity to vocal musics. Unless your system already suffers from bright sound, it's worth giving this cable a try. Although this cable is not flexible, I can tell you that it's tough!!! Try bending it and you will know what I'm talking about.

Bought the Super Flatline Gold MKII Biwire to replace my UltraLinK Ambiance cables for new Mission M74 speakers which can be biwired. After break-in period, the difference was noticeable. The highs (cymbals), the midrange and Ray Brown's Bass are just simply awesome! These cables are so fast and revealing that you should only hook them up to a good system, not necessarily an expensive one. If your source is bright (usually entry level gear), stay away. The brightness and shrillness will only be accentuated.
My cables are hooked up to 50 W/ch Audio Refinement (YBA) The Complete integrated amp and a Denon 2580/MSB Linc DAC combo at the other end. All bought used.
I can now hear new things in almost every recording I listen to. Now, time to sit back and enjoy the music.

I found an unused 5 meter pair on eBay and decided to give them a try. Though I hadn't read any of the reviews the recommendation of the fine folks at Madisound was enough to peak my interest. I figured that the speaker cables were one of the more cost effective upgrades I could make at the time.When they arrived and I examined them I was immediately impressed with the surface contact area of their banana plug design. I proceeded to roll them out on the floor of my studio and admire my eBay bargain. The length was overcut so that 5m would be the working length after the gentle bends necessary for connection. The striking nature of a "cable" this flat is an odd bit of visual candy when you first see them.Since my current speakers are not configured for Bi-wireing I used a pair of dual banana adapters so as to utilize both runs. I carefully laid the runs from the amp to the speakers and took one last listen to the old bullitproof buddies for the sense of immediate comparison. Then after cleaning all the contact surfaces I plugged in the Nordosts and settled into the critical sweet spot in my listening area. As I pressed the power button on the remote and the telltale LED changes from red to blue on the Krell the relay seems to take longer than usual, like Christmas morning when you're a kid. Then I press the play button.......Diana Krall is sitting right in front of me, the transparent airy openess is stunning. I noticed that the bass is somewhat dampened compared to the old MC but this is not even a remote consideration. I switch to Hancocks' New Standard and hear nuances for the very first time oooooooooo. Neighbors, let's see. Adjust the subwoofer and put on a well mastered Carmina Burana and head straight to O Fortuna. The Krell smiles as I punch up the volume control.....Windows bow,the mailslot door goes horizontal and a few recent memories relocate. I can hear the size of the hall and the texture of the wall coverings. Neumanns separate themselves from Crown PZM supplimentals. Cymbals crash and shimmer. Tympani resonance is palpable and you can pick out the individuals in the chorus. I sit into the wee hours of the morning remeeting Miles,Jimi,Horowitz,Morrison (Jim&Van),Brand X,Weather Report and any other well recorded & engineered CDs that I remember I have. Over the next two weeks dramatic improvemant is evident and the initial bass frequency rolloff I noticed has blossomed into tight realism.